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Merri-bek Community Gardening

Big thanks to Jo as she leaves the PCG Organising Committee

Big thanks to Jo as she leaves the PCG Organising Committee

Posted in Pentridge Community Garden By Jessica PeelerPosted on
Friends, join us in saying thank you to the original Marathon Woman, Jo Stavers. Jo is leaving our organising committee after having served since 2017, including two stints as Convenor.
If you’ve been to one of our fundraisers over the years, it was probably organised by Jo. She’s the woman who just keeps going and going and going. (Sometimes literally rocking up to volunteer after having just run a marathon.)
Jo is an incredible communicator who is able to drive us to an outcome, no matter how stuck we are. She’s confident and clever yet somehow completely down to earth. She is also generous with her time and her space – we’ve had countless Committee meetings sitting around Jo’s dining room table.
If there’s one image that exemplifies Jo’s attitude, it’s watching her happily tuck into a piece of bread with tomato sauce after a long day at the Bunnings Sausage Sizzle. (As a vegetarian she flips the snags but can’t eat them!)
We are very sad to lose Jo from our Organising Committee, but we are glad that she will still be part of our garden as a general member.
Hopefully we can meet again soon to say cheers over a beer. For now – thank you Jo. We’re raising a virtual pint in your honour.

Time to propagate seedlings for Spring!

Posted in Lockdown, Propagation By Jessica PeelerPosted on

It’s lockdown no. 6 for Victoria. We would love to be gathering in the garden, but sadly that is not possible right now. Instead, why not propagate some plants at home?

To help you get started, check out our propagation guide here. Gardenate is a great resource for finding out what can be grown in your area at the moment.

We would love to see what you grow! Tag us on Facebook or Instagram.

Accessing the gardens during COVID-19 restrictions

Posted in Uncategorised By Jessica PeelerPosted on

Events at our community gardens are currently on hold due to COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria.

Community garden members, you should have received an email with information about how you can safely visit the garden at the moment (if you didn’t, let us know). The gardens are closed to the public until further notice.

Keep an eye on the calendar on this website for information about events when we can safely meet again. We will also post updates on Facebook:

Moreland Community Gardening

Pentridge Community Garden

West Brunswick Community Garden and Dunstan Reserve Food Forest

Pruning workshop postponed

Posted in Uncategorised By Jessica PeelerPosted on

Our deciduous tree pruning workshop (originally scheduled for 29th May, then rescheduled to 24th July), has been postponed once more due to the current COVID-19 situation in Victoria.

If you were registered for this workshop, you will receive an email with further information.

Watch this space for rescheduling of this workshop at a later date, and in the meantime check out the My Smart Garden website for upcoming online events run by Councils and community groups.

Edible Pruning Series – free workshops!

Posted in Events By Jessica PeelerPosted on
In conjunction with Moreland City Council and as part of the My Smart Garden program, we are excited to be presenting a series of workshops on pruning. They will be run at the Dunstan Reserve Food Forest, by James Barclay, who is an enthusiastic presenter and advocate for engaging the public in sustainable horticultural practice.
Each session will cover pruning basics, and then focus on a particular area. The sessions are suitable for beginner – intermediate level gardeners, and will also include hands on pruning practice in our food forest.
Registrations are essential via the links below:

Edible Pruning Series – Workshop 2: Fruiting Vines and Shrubs (26th June)

Edible Pruning Series – Workshop 3: Espalier (10th July)

Also check out the many other free workshops on the My Smart Garden website.

The Pentridge Community Garden Amenity Plan is live!

Posted in Uncategorised By Jessica PeelerPosted on

To record our plans and ideas for Pentridge Community Garden, we’ve created an Amenity Plan that will help us to focus our efforts and resources in the best way possible for our members.

The plan sets out the actions we want to take, and gives us a way to measure the impact of those actions. You can read the full document here.

If there’s something you’d like to be involved with, please get in touch with the Organising Committee or Jess (the Community Gardening Coordinator) at administrator@merribekcg.org.

 

Pentridge Community Garden is welcoming new members again

Posted in Pentridge Community Garden By Conyak SupportPosted on

Have you been wanting to learn how to garden in the inner city? Maybe you picked up up some skills over lockdown, and you’d like to move to growing your own vegies? 

Great news, because Pentridge Community Garden is accepting new members again.  We’re very excited to welcome new people to our friendly garden in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

You can join online here.

Our community garden is different to most. We didn’t want our garden to just be rows of private beds where individuals don’t interact with each other. So we’ve built a large communal space that we look after together.

Pentridge Community Garden bird's eye view
Yes, nearly all of this huge space is dedicated to communal gardening.

It means that we can learn from one another, experiment with different plants, and we have heaps of different crops on the go. Gardening members share the harvest, and there’s always plenty to go around!

Right now you can visit the garden and expect to go home with rhubarb, zucchini and peas. And we’re planting chillies, capsicum and tomatoes for summer- yum.

We welcome members of all ages, ethnicities, abilities, genders and sexualities. And it’s ok if you are a complete newbie – we are here to help you learn!

Members at Pentridge Community Garden
Some of our members harvesting giant zucchini.

So if you’ve been meaning to get more connected to your neighbours and the environment, join us at Pentridge Community Garden!

Dunstan Reserve Food Forest Survey

Posted in Amenity Plan, Dunstan Reserve Food Forest By Jessica PeelerPosted on

Dunstan Reserve Food Forest Survey

We are lucky enough to look after the Dunstan Reserve Food Forest, right next to the West Brunswick Community Garden. We have lots of ideas for this space, and we’re putting together a plan to enact them (when it’s safe to do so of course).

 

Whether you love it, are confused by it, or just like the free fruit, we want your input! Fill in our quick survey here.

WBCG Amenity Plan

Posted in Amenity Plan, West Brunswick Community Garden By Jessica PeelerPosted on

Hi gardeners!

We can’t garden together right now, but that hasn’t stopped us from thinking about the future of West Brunswick Community Garden, and how we can make it as wonderful as possible for our members and the local community.

To record our plans and ideas, we’ve created an Amenity Plan, a document that identifies the areas where we will focus our resources over the coming months (and possibly years…given the current COVID-19 situation).

You can read the full document here. You’ll see that we’ve set out a bunch of actions that will help us achieve our goals. If there’s something you’d like to be involved with, please let Jess (the Community Gardening Coordinator) know at administrator@merribekcg.org. The more hands on board the better!

We hope you are managing to take part in some safe and socially distanced gardening at the moment, whether it’s at the community garden following our COVID-19 safety rules, in your own backyard, or even on your windowsill.

 

 

 

 

COVID-19 update 23 June – Pentridge Community Garden

Posted in Uncategorised By Conyak SupportPosted on

This page was updated on 23 June 2020.

We have updated our guidelines in light of the new Victorian government rules, and in the context of Moreland being identified as a Coronavirus hotspot. Please take the time to read these.
The new guidelines for Pentridge Community Garden, effective immediately, are:
  • Gatherings of up to 10 people are allowed, providing social distancing is maintained. (1.5m)
  • Ad-hoc visits continue to be registered by posting in the closed members’ Facebook group. (The organiser starts the post and people who want to attend comment. Organiser limits attendees to 10.)
  • Open garden sessions will contnibue on Sunday afternoons. We’d like to see members register their intention to attend in the group. All attendees must tick their names off the attendance sheet.
  • We encourage the use of gloves where practical. Please bring your own gloves to the garden.
The shed will be open for use, provided the following guidelines are adhered to:
  • Gloves must be worn when opening and closing the shed.
  • Shared tools must be disinfected at the start and end of each session. If you’re using a tool, it’s your responsibility to make sure this is done.
  • A maximum of 2 people are allowed in the shed at once, providing social distancing is maintained. (1.5m)
The following guidelines have not changed:
  • Do not attend the garden if you are ill, you have arrived from overseas within the last fortnight, or you have been in touch with a confirmed case of COVID-19.
  • The compost hub will remain closed to the general public.
  • Avoid shared surfaces & common areas (tables, chairs, potting benches etc.) If you must use these areas, disinfect them before and after use
  • Soap and water and sanitiser is available at the garden for your use.
Moreland has been identified as a Coronavirus ‘hotspot’, which means we must be extra vigilant with hygiene, and limiting gatherings to 10. 
We encourage members from outside Moreland to reconsider whether you need to attend the garden over the next three weeks. This especially applies to members in the adjacent LGA of Darebin, which has also been identified as a ‘hotspot’.
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